Posts tagged “Occupy DC”

Citizen Journalist ran a piece three days ago on Mahmoud Ahmadinejad allegedly planning a meeting with Occupy members during the time he is in NYC to speak at the United Nations.

The announcement, which was met by revulsion, even from some supporters of OWS, pushed some in OWS to take to the media to denounce it. ”Nobody in their right mind would meet with a fascist dictator like Ahmadenijad,” said Shawn Carrié, a longtime Occupy activist, in a direct message to Rosie Gray at Buzz Feed.

According to NY Magazine, another spokesperson also denied it. ”No, none,” said Occupy Wall Street spokesperson Dana Balicki when asked by Daily Intel if there was any truth to the report. However, Ms. Balicki noted Code Pink members had previously met with Ahmadinejad. Code Pink is one of the founding groups of Occupy.

I was working with the group CODEPINK several years ago when Ahmadinejad came to [New York] and held a meeting to discuss global issues. I imagine this is the same. We have no idea who is organizing the meeting and how they came up with this story.

I’ve been trying to reach someone from Fars to ask them who they are talking about. Anyone going is doing so as an individual,” Balicki said. “There is no organized effort on behalf of OWS to meet with Ahmadinejad. This smells like a propaganda effort to me.

Except now we know at least one of the people that actually met with him was in fact an Occupier from Occupy DC, again according to Fars. Occupier Leah Bolger is also president of Veterans for Peace, one of the groups in the left anti-war coalition which also includes Code Pink. When queried for confirmation of the meeting, Ms. Bolger failed to respond.

Here is Leah with Occupy DC on Day 4 of their occupation

Fars printed a long statement from Ms. Bolger, speaking on behalf of Veterans for Peace, which basically translates to Israel and US want war, Iran is just an innocent. Of course, meeting with these people only serves Ahmadinejad. It is too bad they fail to realize they are just propaganda bait.

Apparently Mr. Carrié will have to have a conversation with Leah Bolger about the state of her mind.

Update:

Mr. Carrie may have to wait before talking with Leah Bolger. She is off to Pakistan with others of Veterans for Peace and Code Pink to protest drones. If one protests US use of drones, the logical place to protest would be here, as both groups have done. There is no reason to go to Pakistan other than being a propaganda puppet.

Here is a video taken at an Occupy DC meeting. Kudos to the folks who got into the meeting to take it.

In it is Mike Golash, former President of the Amalgamated Transit Workers Union Local 639. Mike was also Occupy DC’s “librarian”.

Progressive labor is a revolutionary communist organization,” Golash said during an Occupy DC “People’s Assembly” on August 19. “Its objective,” he added, “is to make revolution in the United States, overthrow the capitalist system and build communism.”

The “Progressive Labor” Mr. Golash refers to is the Progressive Labor Party. What is the Progressive Labor Party? According to their website:

Progressive Labor Party (PLP) fights to destroy capitalism and the dictatorship of the capitalist class. We organize workers, soldiers and youth into a revolutionary movement for communism.

What do they believe?

Only the dictatorship of the working class — communism — can provide a lasting solution to the disaster that is today’s world for billions of people. This cannot be done through electoral politics, but requires a revolutionary movement and a mass Red Army led by PLP.

What would that “lasting solution” look like?

Communism means working collectively to build a worker-run society. We will abolish work for wages, money and profits. Everyone will share in society’s benefits and burdens.

Communism means abolishing nations and nationalism. One international working class, one world, one Party [comment added- ein Reich, ein volk, ein Furhrer!-sorry couldn’t resist the add]

Communism means that the minds of millions of workers must become free from religion’s false promises, unscientific thinking and poisonous ideology. Communism will triumph when the masses of workers can use the science of dialectical materialism to understand, analyze and change the world to meet their needs and aspirations.

Communism means the Party leads every aspect of society. For this to work, millions of workers — eventually everyone — must become communist organizers.

Then there are the silly stories that make you say, just exactly what were they thinking?

Occupy DC has taken on a new enemy. Is it a Wall Street bank? An evil corporation? No, it’s…a food truck.

Yes, that’s right. A food truck.

The Fojol Bros food trucks are a staple in DC. They have three food trucks that claim to hail from imaginary lands such as Merlindia and are meant to evoke a circus like, carnival atmosphere of fun and laughter. They serve very popular fare that includes Thai, Indian and Ethiopian kinds of food.

Some Occupy DC members were so offended by what they saw as the “racist” caricature of the operation, they began a campaign against the Fojol Brothers, attacking them on Facebook, calling them “racist” on multiple photos. They started an online petition against the company. One of them, Drew Franklin, wrote an “Open Letter to the “Fojol” Bro-dawgs” which begain “Dear Idiots” and which included the following:

I kid, of course. I don’t need to ruminate on the nuances of cultural sensitivity to act like a decent human being, but it seems you do. Do understand that by accusing you of hipster racism, I’m giving you the benefit of the doubt. I’m taking for granted that you’re just well-meaning (if woefully misguided) white boys with a contemptible sense of humor. See, if I were the pessimistic type, I’d say instead that you’re a bunch of callous opportunists banking off the ever profitable enterprise that is Western Orientalism, exploiting DC’s growing vanilla consumer base–after all, with the recent influx of smirking, entitled young bohemians around these parts, there’s certainly no shortage of monied ignoramuses eager to drop cash on any mediocre product if it’s quirky or exotic enough. But I don’t believe you’re that clever.

In any case, whether your shtick is informed by boneheaded obliviousness or a cynical marketing strategy, it’s not cool. Seriously. Rather, it’s decidedly uncool, and unacceptable, and the fact that your business’s regrettable existence has gotten a pass for this long is an embarrassment to my city. Find a new gimmick, or else please set that ugly tin wagon on fire and drive it into the Potomac. Dicks.

Sincerely,

A White Boy Who Don’t Play That Shit

*[Edit: This letter originally included the term “goombas”, which was meant to refer to the Nintendo character. Someone has pointed out that this is a derogatory term for Italian-Americans. I apologize, and have changed it to “goons”. – 5/17/12]

In addition to the “goomba” reference which he later excised, Mr. Franklin appears not to notice the other offensive things one could pick out of his letter if one were inclined. Calling white people “vanilla”, for example. Also, Mr Franklin, in supposedly defending against alleged racism against Asians, you use the term “Orientalism”, which is meant to refers to objects and not people, and is a Eurocentric term, which some Asians actually find offensive. I’m also offended by your usage of the term “a white boy who don’t play that shit” and “bro dawgs”. I think that you are deliberately trying to fake speech. I find that offensive.

Racism is a real issue. It doesn’t need to be found in imaginary characters on a food truck that was created without intent to harm anyone or sell any kind of invective.

It’s called imagination and fun, guys.

As it turns out the “white boys” of Fojol Brothers include women and people of color. As anyone can see from their pictures, they have a multi-ethnic team. A portion of their proceeds go to help at risk youth in DC.

But I guess that wouldn’t fit Occupy DC’s tale of the evil “white boys”.